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The Water Margin Podcast. This Is Episode 36. Last Time, While Our Welcome to the Water Margin Podcast. This is episode 36. Last time, while our hero Wu Song was away on business, a rich local playboy, Ximen Qing, had become obsessed with Pan Jinlian, the less-than-faithful wife of Wu Song’s elder brother. This Ximen Qing had money and clout, and all he needed was a scheme to get together with Pan Jinlian. So he huddled with Mrs. Wang, who ran a teahouse next to Pan Jinlian’s home. This Mrs. Wang was no stranger to arranging clandestine affairs, so she laid out an elaborate 10-step plan for Ximen Qing to seduce the object of his infatuation. When she was done explaining the plan, Ximen Qing was ecstatic. “This is a terrific plan!” he raved. “Just don’t forget the 10 taels of silver you promised me,” Mrs. Wang said. “How can one forget Dongting (4,2) Lake while eating the fragrant tangerine peel produced there?” Ximen Qing replied. “When do we start?” “I’ll have an update for you tonight,” Mrs. Wang said. “While her husband is still away, I’ll go over there and sound her out. You just go buy the silks and send them over.” “Make this happen for me, and you won’t be disappointed,” Ximen Qing reassured her. As soon as he took his leave of Mrs. Wang, Ximen Qing did as she instructed and went to buy the brocade, silk, gauze, and pure silk floss. He had a servant deliver them to Mrs. Wang, along with five taels of loose silver. Mrs. Wang then left her place through the backdoor and went over to the home of Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian. Wu Dalang was still out selling buns, so Pan Jinlian received her and invited her upstairs for tea. “Why don’t you ever come over to my place for tea?” Mrs. Wang asked. “I haven’t been feeling well,” Pan Jinlian said. “So I haven’t had the energy.” “Do you have an almanac?” Mrs. Wang asked. “I would like to pick an auspicious day to hire a tailor.” “What kind of clothes are you making?” “I’m always feeling all sorts of aches and pains in my old age, so I want to have my burial garments ready, just in case. A rich man gave me some fine fabric for it. It’s been sitting in my home for more than a year. And this year, I’ve felt my condition getting worse, and it’s a leap year, so I want to use this extra month to get the clothes done. But that tailor says he’s too busy and can’t do it for me. Woe is me!” Pan Jinlian smiled and said, “I don’t know if you like my work, but how about if I do it for you?” Mrs. Wang flashed a huge grin. “If you are willing to do it for me, I would die happy! I’ve long heard about your skill with the needle, but I did not dare to ask you.” “It’s not a problem at all,” Pan Jinlian said. “Since I’ve made the promise, I will live up to it for sure. Pick a good date from the almanac, and I’ll start working on it.” “YOU are my lucky star! As long as you’re making the clothes for me, we don’t need to pick any special date. Besides, I just remembered that I asked someone the other day, and he said tomorrow is a most auspicious day. I just forgot because I thought you didn’t really need a most auspicious day to cut materials.” “That’s perfect! We don’t need to pick any other day then,” Pan Jinlian said. “Since you’re willing to do me this favor, may I be so bold as to ask you to come over to my house tomorrow to start working on it?” “Oh no need for me to come over; you can just bring the stuff here.” “But I would love to see you work,” Mrs. Wang said. “Besides, who would watch my shop if I came over?” “In that case, I’ll come over after breakfast,” Pan Jinlian relented. Mrs. Wang thanked her profusely and took her leave. That night, she sent word to Ximen Qing, telling him to come over on the third day. The rest of the night passed uneventfully. The next morning, Mrs. Wang cleaned up her home, bought some thread, put on the tea kettle, and waited. Meanwhile, next door, Pan Jinlian’s husband, Wu Dalang, ate breakfast and set out with his steamed buns as usual. Once he left, Pan Jinlian rolled up the front door curtain and went out through her backdoor to Mrs. Wang’s place. Mrs. Wang enthusiastically welcomed her inside and served her tea, as well as various nuts and dried fruits. Then, on a table that’s been wiped spotless, Mrs. Wang laid out the fabric. Pan Jinlian took her measurements and started cutting and stitching. While she worked, Mrs. Wang looked on and praised her needlework nonstop. “What great skills! I’ve lived almost 70 years and haven’t seen such wonderful needlework.” When lunchtime rolled around, Mrs. Wang prepared some wine and food and cooked some noodles for her guest. Pan Jinlian ate and drank, and then worked some more before calling it a day as evening approached. She got home right around the same time as her husband. Wu Dalang noticed some blush on his wife’s cheeks, so he asked her if she had been drinking. “Our neighbor Mrs. Wang asked me to make her funeral clothes, and she treated me to some food and wine at lunchtime,” Pan Jinlian said. “Don’t let her get you food and wine. We might need to ask her for a favor at some point, too. Come home and eat at lunchtime; don’t impose on her. If you go over there again tomorrow, bring some money and treat her back, ok? As they say, ‘Nearby neighbors are better than distant relatives.’ Don’t forget proper courtesies. If she won’t let you return the favor, then just bring the material back and work on it here.” Pan Jinlian listened and said nothing more about it that night. The next day, once Wu Dalang headed out after breakfast, Mrs. Wang came calling again to invite Pan Jinlian over to her place, and they resumed work on the clothes. As midday approached, Pan Jinlian handed Mrs. Wang a string of coins and said, “Here, let me buy us a cup of wine.” “What?! That won’t do!” Mrs. Wang objected. “You’re here working on stuff for me; how can I let you spend money?” “My husband told me to do so. If you won’t accept, then I’ll have to take the material home and work on it there.” When she heard that, Mrs. Wang quickly relented and said, “Well, your husband is so polite. Since you put it that way, I’ll accept.” So Mrs. Wang took the money, added some from her own pocket, and went to buy some good wine, food, and fruits to treat her special guest. And since it’s been like a whole two pages in the novel since the last aggressively misogynistic comment about the entire sex, the author took this opportunity to slip in a little quip about how almost all women, no matter how clever they may be, are invariably taken in by small attentions and flattery, like good wine and food. [Sigh] Let’s move on. So day two passed much like day one, and Pan Jinlian went home as evening approached. On the morning of the third day, as soon as Wu Dalang left, Mrs. Wang was at the backdoor, calling out to Pan Jinlian, “I’m here to bother you again.” She hadn’t even finished speaking when Pan Jinlian came down the stairs and replied, “I was just coming over.” So the two of them again went over to Mrs. Wang’s home and started working on the clothes and sipping tea. As midday approached, they heard a cough from the doorway to the teahouse, followed by someone calling out, “Mrs. Wang, why haven’t I seen you the last few days?” “Who’s that?” Mrs. Wang asked. “It’s me,” the voice answered. Mrs. Wang got up and went out front. There stood none other than Ximen Qing, wearing a brand-new headscarf and dressed in his finest. “Oh I was wondering who it was; turns out it’s you, benefactor!” Mrs. Wang said with a chuckle. “Your timing is perfect. Come in here and have a look.” She pulled Ximen Qing into her home and said to Pan Jinlian, “This is the benefactor who gave me the material for the clothes.” Ximen Qing respectfully greeted Pan Jinlian, and she hurriedly put down her needlework and returned the greeting. Mrs. Wang then pointed at her and said to Ximen Qing, “I’ve had the silks you gave me for more than a year and hadn’t been able to get the clothes made. But fortunately, she’s doing it for me now. Her stitches are as fine as any machine weave! So close and exact! What a rare skill! Here, take a look for yourself.” Ximen Qing picked up the garment and sang Pan Jinlian’s praises. “How did you get such remarkable skills?! What a heavenly touch!” “Sir, you jest,” Pan Jinlian said with a smile.
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